Meet the artist.
My name is Elijah Miller, I’m a North Carolina based artist, character designer, and illustrator. I’ve been making art since I was in preschool and somewhere along the way I learned it can really be a job. My artwork mainly consists of illustrations of original characters and the narratives surrounding them. Each drawing is a glimpse into the innerworkings of the worlds that my characters inhabit and the niches they carve within them. My artwork depicts themes of introspection, despair, triumph, and exploration of oneself and the environment surrounding them. Informed by my experiences and observations in the world I like to depict these situations with a rawness and honesty that many can relate to. In my choice of mediums I move between stark black and white ink work and very colorful mixed media compositions with an authentically grungy edge. Every drawing I create contributes to the ever growing universe of characters, worlds and adventures that I wish to share with as many as possible.
Why I create
If there is one thing I learned throughout my life it is that I truly accel at doing things only I can do. I never cared for too much structure when I was young or even now. Especially that imposed by things like school, sports teams, my day jobs, organized activities and all the like. For me that’s just not it. It’s no wonder that I fell into skateboarding as a creative outlet while I was in middle school. I wasn’t drawing very frequently during this time but skateboarding provided a lane for me to express myself and by proxy I was exposed to the art that surrounds skateboarding itself. Graphics, illustrations, clothing, video editing, music, photography, magazine and print layouts you name it and I took it all in. All of it was cool and inspiring, and it showed me a great range of art that can be applied to such a niche subculture. Even though I still skateboard till this day my aspirations of being a professional started to fade when I realized that I wasn’t going to reach the skill level necessary to make a living as a skateboarder. But this was a good thing to me because I fell back on art which I had a more natural aptitude for and started taking it a bit more serious as far as practice. The freedom and creative autonomy afforded to me by skateboarding definitely translated over to making art. The essence of it in my opinion is to be able to do something that allows me to express my most authentic self through it in a way that fits my style. Art is the thing that puts me in the place to do things that are truly unique to me. Now of course I am not saying that I am the only person who can illustrate and make art but I am the only one who can do these things the way that I do. My favorite creators are those that create their own worlds and universes for their ideas to live and thrive. People like Todd Mcfarlane, Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Jake parker, and Kim Jung Gi are a few artist I admire that embody this to me. Bringing my ideas to life in a manner and style which can only be created by me and sharing them with others is my goal as an artist. To build a solid foundation for these original ideas and stories to thrive and grow is the long term goal for my work.
Be The Influence
Be The Influence is my personal brand. I came up with this name in high school during a time when I desired to be a streetwear brand designer and owner. I have since shifted from those aspirations but the energy is the same. Be The Influence represents a self motivated individual that embodies their own drive to pursue their goals and endeavors. I understand that we all have different sources of inspiration and muses we seek out when we need a kick to do creative work. The thing is sometimes “inspiration” just isn’t enough. Sometimes having the “right” outside stimulus just can’t cut it when you have to get up and make things happen. This is where my concept is taken from. Be The Influence is becoming the embodiment of your passion and driving yourself to the finish line of any challenge you face. When you can’t look towards your inspirations, heroes, or influences to motivate you to get up you have no other option but to become the influence yourself. To be a person that internalizes their sources of motivation to keep themselves going when there are no shortcuts or spontaneous ground breaking epiphanies are readily available is what Be The Influence is all about.
B.M.S.R
B.M.S.R Stands for Breaking Mentality, Shaping Reality. This is the slogan for my personal brand as well as my personal life. It’s a simple concept that has been practiced long before I met the world and even to this day. When I say this I am talking about breaking traditional conventions or ways of thought by generating new ideas and methods of action to execute them. But this is not just limited to proposing new thoughts that challenge status quo, it is providing follow through that brings these notions into reality with some type of purpose. When an idea is able to be materialized into the real world others have the chance to interact with it and that is where change has potential to happen. Sharing ideas can affect how people think and provide them with insight that may change how they interact with the world around them. B.M.S.R. Represents the individuals, groups, and communities who all pursue change through sharing and executing new ideas.